Personnel
Prof Michael Rowan
- Position: Professor of Neuropharmacology
- Contact details: Dept of Pharmacology and Therapeutics, Biotechnology Building, Trinity College, Dublin 2
- Email: mrowan@tcd.ie
- Telephone: 00-353-1-8961567
Research Interests
Our research group explores the cellular mechanisms mediating the disruptive effects of amyloid-beta oligomers on synaptic plasticity and memory mechanisms in vivo. Amyloid beta is the main component of the hallmark neuritic plaques in Alzheimer’s disease patients. The aim of this research is to identify new targets to prevent memory disruption in early Alzheimer’s disease.
Publications
Klyubin I, Cullen WK, Hu NW, Rowan MJ. Alzheimer's disease Aβ assemblies mediating rapid disruption of synaptic plasticity and memory. Mol Brain. 2012 Jul 17;5:25. doi: 10.1186/1756-6606-5-25.
Ondrejcak T, Wang Q, Kew JN, Virley DJ, Upton N, Anwyl R, Rowan MJ. Activation of α7 nicotinic acetylcholine receptors persistently enhances hippocampal synaptic transmission and prevents Aß-mediated inhibition of LTP in the rat hippocampus. Eur J Pharmacol. 2012 Feb 29;677(1-3):63-70. doi: 10.1016/j.ejphar.2011.12.008.
O'Nuallain B, Klyubin I, Mc Donald JM, Foster JS, Welzel A, Barry A, Dykoski RK, Cleary JP, Gebbink MF, Rowan MJ, Walsh DM. A monoclonal antibody against synthetic Aβ dimer assemblies neutralizes brain-derived synaptic plasticity-disrupting Aβ. J Neurochem. 2011 Oct;119(1):189-201. doi: 10.1111/j.1471-4159.2011.07389.x.
Freir DB, Nicoll AJ, Klyubin I, Panico S, Mc Donald JM, Risse E, Asante EA, Farrow MA, Sessions RB, Saibil HR, Clarke AR, Rowan MJ, Walsh DM, Collinge J. Interaction between prion protein and toxic amyloid β assemblies can be therapeutically targeted at multiple sites. Nat Commun. 2011 Jun 7;2:336. doi: 10.1038/ncomms1341.
Barry AE, Klyubin I, Mc Donald JM, Mably AJ, Farrell MA, Scott M, Walsh DM, Rowan MJ. Alzheimer's disease brain-derived amyloid-β-mediated inhibition of LTP in vivo is prevented by immunotargeting cellular prion protein. J Neurosci. 2011 May 18;31(20):7259-63. doi: 10.1523/JNEUROSCI.6500-10.2011.
Research Funding
Science Foundation Ireland, Health Research Board, Industrial collaborators and European Union
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